Privilege issue: Bedi seeks particulars from RS secretariat

New Delhi: Kiran Bedi on Tuesday became the second Team Anna member after Arvind Kejriwal to ask "exact particulars" of her remarks, which the MPs have found "derogatory", so that she could effectively respond to the breach of privilege notice moved by them in the Rajya Sabha.

In a letter to Rajya Sabha Secretariat Director Mukul Pande, the former IPS officer said she had received the letter alleging that she has used derogatory words which were telecast by a news channel.

"…it is requested that in order to effectively furnish comments, the exact particulars in relation to the utterances may kindly be furnished. I hope you would appreciate that I would be able to clarify my position once I receive the specific comments that I am being alleged for," she said.

Later in a tweet, Bedi said, "reply sent to privilege notice asking them to tell me what was exactly derogatory which amounts to breach of privilege?"

The privilege notice against Bedi came as she accused politicians of wearing "several masks" at the same time. She had pulled a scarf from the neck of an activist during Hazare`s fast, wrapped her head with it and proceeded to mock MPs.

Yesterday, Kejriwal asked the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to provide him with tapes of his speeches and transcripts which MPs found derogatory to provide a detailed reply.

Reacting to the notice, Bedi had earlier said that she will not "apologise" for her remarks against politicians, but intends to show a "bigger mirror" to the House on the conduct of lawmakers.

"If I get a notice, I would say I am sorry I will not be able to say sorry. If I get an opportunity I will go before the Committee and will show a bigger mirror to Parliament," she had said.

Besides Bedi and Kejriwal, lawyer Prashant Bhushan had also received a breach of privilege notice.

Bhushan termed the the notice as "totally unjustified" and said "speaking the truth in public interest does not amount to breach of privilege".

"If speaking truth in public interest amounts to breach of privilege, then time has come for the country to review the whole notion of Parliamentary privileges," he said.

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